Dick’s Sporting Goods Chairman considers Field & Stream closure

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Ed Stack, Dick’s Sporting Goods Chairman and CEO: has revealed the company may close its Field & Stream subsidiary.

US retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods has told investors that damage done to sales by its gun control stance may result in it closing its outdoor subsidiary, Field & Stream.

The Fortune 500 company could close down the entire Field & Stream chain of 25 stores across 18 states.

Company Chairman and CEO Ed Stack said the recent 3.9% drop in same-store sales was a consequence in part of the decision to change its gun sales policies. It ‘negatively affected’ the bottom line, revealed Stack. However, he added that the company did not regret the move to change a number of its gun sales policies and back new gun-control legislation.

“It’s definitely a factor, but nothing we didn’t anticipate,” said Stack, at last week’s Goldman Sachs Retailing Conference.

Dick’s, which has an estimated 10% of the fishing retail market in the US, first modified its gun sales policy in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, when it said it would no longer sell certain semi-automatic rifles.

The chain again pledged to stop selling AR-15s and other semi-automatics after the Parkland incident earlier this year.

The company also decided to hire its own gun-control lobbyists to push for stricter gun laws.

Stack said Dick’s would assess the situation through the holiday season. “Some brands are not going to sell to us. If consumers are upset with us, we will make a decision about what we’re going to do with Field & Stream.”